What is the most important thing in Kumite
1/10/20262 min read
What is the most important thing in Kumite? You may believe it is the speed of your gyaku zuki, the height of your mawashi geri, the distance between you and your opponent or your reactions and reflexes.
These are all important skills, but they mean nothing without footwork (ashi-sabaki)..
It doesn’t matter how good or fast your techniques are, how fast your reactions are or whether you understand the distance in a fight; if your footwork is not good enough you won’t be able to control the distance, block attacks or land your own techniques.
Why is footwork vital?
Control the fight- Footwork allows us to control the distance and that means controlling the fight, we can stay out of range, cover distance, move our opponent into spaces we want them to be and create angles. If you don’t control the distance your opponent controls the fight
Power and impact- Obviously, competition requires controlled techniques, but Karate is a martial art designed for self-defence and many Karateka train with that goal in mind. Footwork controls your stance and body position. The power of your techniques is heavily dependent on the position of your feet.
Balance and agility- A large part of Kihon and Kata is the emphasis placed on balance and agility. The skills we learn in our basics are there to be used in our Kumite, as we move more 'freely' our footwork becomes incredibly important as we no longer move exclusively through the stances employed in Kihon/Kata.
How to train your footwork
Practice the fundamentals- Practice the basics of footwork, keep your feet at the correct distance, don't cross them, keep your weight centred and maintain your posture. Practice these fundamentals whilst moving in different directions with techniques added in
Cone and ladder drills- Ladders, cones and hurdles can all help improve your agility and your ability to move quickly in multiple directions.
Practice drills for specific purposes- If you want to work on covering distance, practice movements specific to that. The same goes for backwards or lateral movement. Break the movements down and practice them specifically until you can perform them at full speed.
Move around- Simply practice moving around in different directions. Put a timer on for 10 minutes and just move. Bring together all the skills discussed above, use the fundamentals, practice the skills you worked on in your drills and focus on being light on your feet and agile. You could do this at the start or end of your session if you have 10 mins free and the space to move freely.
Want to get involved?
If you want to put these into practice, in person, feel free to get in touch!